Public Statements

Hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee - Administration's Recent Obamacare Decisions

Press Release

On the heels of last week's abrupt announcements by the Obama administration to delay full implementation of the health law's employer mandate by one year and scale back verification of exchange applicants' information, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, chaired by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), today announced the hearing, "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act: Implementation in the Wake of Administrative Delay." The hearing has been scheduled for Thursday, July 18, 2013, at 1:30 p.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. Witnesses from the Departments of Treasury and Health and Human Services (HHS) have been invited to testify.

"Time and again, administration officials testified before our committee that all is well and the roll out of the Affordable Care Act is proceeding as planned, but the missed deadlines and ongoing delays tell a much different story. Our oversight work has revealed countless flaws and fumbles and now the recent decisions to delay the employer mandate and scrap income verification rules for an "honor system' is further proof this law is not ready for prime time. We will continue aggressive oversight of the Affordable Care Act because, as our recent Rate Shock report revealed, this law is not affordable and won't deliver the health care Americans need," said Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Committee Chairman Tim Murphy (R-PA).

Following the administration's announcement, committee leaders and members of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee requested documents and information from Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius regarding the administration's sudden decision to delay full implementation of the employer mandate. On Friday, the administration issued a regulation rolling back the verification process for eligibility on the exchanges. This hearing seeks to provide transparency and demand answers regarding these significant changes to the already massive and intrusive health care law.